


Ever After High x Anastasia AU

by CrunchyOrochiru



Category: Ever After High, Ever After High Series - Shannon Hale
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Evil Snow White, Gen, Inspired by Anastasia (1997 & Broadway), Not Beta Read, Raven is Snow White, References to Wicked (The musical)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-17 06:28:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28595487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrunchyOrochiru/pseuds/CrunchyOrochiru
Summary: A narrator interferes, causing Apple to get lost and lose her memories. However, the memories begin to resurface after attending Ever After High...Currently in the middle of a rewrite!
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Please be aware that I haven't read how Apple falls into the well, and I only know about it from online.
> 
> Edit 2/19/21- I didn't like how I set up the story, so I revamped it.

Apple White was eagerly sitting on her mini-throne. To her left was a growing assortment of gifts, and to her right was her mother, sitting dignified on a real throne. Everything about her mother was flawlessly perfect, from her royally gorgeous hair to her imposing tone. Even her pose was regal. Apple wanted to be just like her when she grew up.

Today was Apple's 6th birthday. All of Apple's previous birthday parties were grand, but none could compare to today. This was the year Apple would start training to be the next Snow White, which Snow believed was a good enough reason to go all out. Unbeknownst to Snow, this party would forever change her life, her daughter’s life, and the course of Ever After’s story.

Just then, Briar Beauty and her family arrived. “Briar!” Apple cheered, before remembering how a princess should act. “Mommy, may I converse with Princess Briar?” Apple didn’t know what converse meant, but she’d heard Snow say the word often. The word made her sound smart, so Apple used it. Her mother seemed to approve, because she smiled as she sent off Apple to her friend.

Meanwhile, a certain Evil Queen was watching everything. The throne room was filled to the brim with mirrors from every direction. All of those mirrors connected to the mirror realm, where Mira Queen was imprisoned. She was simply curious about Wonderland, but of course no one would teach the Evil Queen. She ended up taking drastic measures, only to be trapped in the mirror prison. Now her daughter would have to pay the price.

Mira’s daughter, Raven Queen, was around the same age as Snow’s daughter. She, who was only 6, would have to do with only one parent. A parent who was much older than her mother; a father who was slowly yet surely getting on in the years. How ironic, that Raven was born with ebony black hair and skin as pale as snow. It was also ironic, how Apple was born with hair as bright as the sun and cheeks as red as apples.

Although it was amusing to see Snow squirm over her ‘imperfect’ daughter, Mira wasn’t any less pleased over Raven’s situation. If this happened to anyone else, arrangements would be made for the child. But no, let’s leave Raven with an aging father and the Goodking’s castle staff. The so-called “fairest” didn’t make any effort either. Despite Mira’s complaints, Snow insisted that Raven would be fine.

“You can see her through the mirror, and she has daddy dearest with her!”

What did Snow know about childcare? She was hardly a saint to her own daughter, because for every moment she was motherly, there was another where she was berating her daughter for things out of her control (namely, her hair). It’s especially concerning, considering how Snow is supposedly “the Fairest”. Someone really ought to teach her a lesson in motherhood...

Suddenly, an idea entered Mira’s mind. She began to smile wickedly. While Apple was being gifted a new crown-bow, Mira conjured a magic dragonfly. She sent the dragonfly out the far mirror from the back, towards Apple.

“Briar! Look at this bow mommy gave me! Isn't it pretty?” Apple beamed.

Briar said something in response, but Apple didn’t hear it. Instead, her focus turned to the beautiful, purple dragonfly. She didn’t know why, but she was just drawn to it. “Apple?” Briar asked with slight concern. All of a sudden, Apple started chasing after the dragonfly. She ran out the room, past the gates, over the drawbridge, and into the forest.

Then, something that never should have happened occurred.

The dragonfly led Apple to a well, and just as Apple was about to fall… My predecessor interfered. Tom Booke- They say he had a bright future as a narrator, until this incident. In an attempt to save Apple from drowning, he narrated a lie. However, it only delayed the inevitable. Apple still ended up drowning, but in the wrong place.

She was deeper in the forest than she should have been, and no one would be able to save her. At least, that was the case until Tom interfered, one last time. The Witch of the West happened to be nearby, taking a pitstop in the forest. Tom made her thirsty, and he lead her to the well Apple fell in. She pulled and found that the bucket was abnornally heavy. Just as she finally saved Apple, Tom was taken away.

Then, they brought me in as his replacement.

Ahem, sorry for being off topic. Let's get back to the White kingdom. Everyone was confused when they saw Apple running down the corridor, chasing after a glowing dragonfly. Briar claimed that the dragonfly came out of nowhere, but for some reason, Apple was the only one affected by it.

Snow immediately realized who the culprit was. However, she needed to retrieve her daughter first. She sent out a search team. At first, she didn't think much of the situation until they came back hours later, with no Apple, and a wet crown-bow.

"Does this belong to your daughter?"

"Where is my daughter?"

"Your majesty-"

**"I said where is my daughter?"**

The entire search team kept their heads down. The leader sadly shook his head. Snow desperately grabbed the soggy crown-bow. "My Apple dumpling…" She clutched it close to her chest.

For the rest of the night, all that could be heard were the cries of Snow White.

Although the incident was caused by the Evil Queen, she was already in the mirror realm, so she couldn’t be held responsible. Snow White offered a cash prize to whoever could bring back her daughter. 

**-10 years later-**

Apple (now called Amber) was starting her first year at Ever After High. Alongside her was Glinda West, her adoptive sister. "Can you believe it?! Legacy day is this year!" She grinned. "What's so important about Legacy day?" Amber asked. Glinda gasped. "How do you not know?!" She started going on a tangent about signing the Storybook of Legends, following destiny, and being just like their mother.

Glinda, being the biological daughter, greatly resembled the Witch of the West. She inherited her mother's green skin and dark hair, which Amber greatly envied (although, she doesn't know why). Amber, as the adopted daughter, looked nothing like Elphaba. Especially her bright hair, which stuck out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of her family.

When Glinda and Amber entered the school, they found that the main hallway was a ghost town. Quite literally, no one else was there. "Maybe we came too late..." Amber suggested. "Nah, they're probably just all in the castleteria." Glinda said. They continued walking until they reached the castleteria, where everyone seemingly already knew each other.

One table wasn't jam-packed with people, so the sisters made a beeline towards that table. "Hi! I'm Amber West, " Amber gestured towards Glinda. "And that's my sister, Glinda. Since you're sitting alone, mind if we sit with you?" The girl with violet hair looked up at Amber. "I'm Raven Queen, the daughter of the Evil Queen. You'd have to be pretty evil to sit with me." 

"That won't be an issue. We're the daughters of the Witch of the West!" Glinda proudly pointed at herself and Amber. Raven was not expecting that response, but it was better than running away in fear. She relented. Amber hadn't even attended her first class yet, but she couldn't wait for what the year would bring.

Later, after the school day had ended, Amber happily rushed to her dorm room. Since they were sisters, she was expecting Glinda to be her roommate so she went ahead and decorated half of the room according to how Glinda would want it- which meant lots of dark, edgy, villain furniture (Glinda wanted to follow her destiny). 

However, her assumption was very, very, **very** , wrong. When Amber opened up the door, the one who was standing at the door was Raven. While Raven was wondering what-in-the-ever-loving-fairy-f*ck happened to her half of the room, Amber hurriedly explained her mistake and apologized. Raven sighed. Until they could figure out what to do with everything, she'd have to make do with the villain furniture.

Eventually, Legacy day arrived. 

Amber was the 2nd and adopted daughter of her mother, the "Wicked" Witch of the West, so she wouldn't have a chance to sign. Not that it mattered, anyway. There's no way the daughter or a witch would be anything but a witch, even if she was a failure who couldn't use magic. That's what Amber believed, until it was Raven's turn to sign.

During the ceremony, despite lacking a Snow White, Headmaster Grimm still made Raven sign. During the days leading up to Legacy day, Raven had confessed her doubts over signing. It was understandable, since a villain's end is not a desirable end. However, Amber slightly calmed down after Raven walked to the stage and the environment acted as if an angel just descended upon them. The small, blue birds you'd expect a princess to have were flocking around Raven. However, Evil Queen's daughter or not, Raven was still a princess. Right? At first, Raven seemed shocked at whatever the Storybook of Legends showed her, but it later morphed into relief, then happiness. She looked up at the world with newfound determination, one that Amber was sure she did not have when they first met. 

"I am Raven Queen, and I pledge to follow my destiny as the next Snow White!"

With a swift stroke of her quill, she sealed the deal. A glow began to envelop Raven. Upon dissipating, Raven was revealed with long, ebony black hair, sea-blue eyes, and lips as red as blood. Half of the student body began to cheer, while the other half of the student body booed disapprovingly. Although she was now the next Snow White, she was still the daughter of the Evil Queen. 

Meanwhile, the current Snow White had been watching the Legacy day mirror-stream. To say the least, she was not pleased to see her nemesis's daughter take her own daughter's place as the next fairest. Granted, she was missing, but that wouldn't stop Snow White from achieving Happily Ever After. 

Truly, Ever After would never be the same.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day after Legacy day

The night after the Legacy day ceremony, Amber found herself staring at Raven. Something about Raven's new look was familiar to her- Was it the sharp, sea blue eyes? Maybe it was the jet-black hair and ghostly-pale skin, which were just like... 

Just like... 

Who was she thinking of again? 

Amber decided to push aside her thoughts and go to sleep. _"Raven is the next Snow White now,"_ She whispered to herself. _"You're probably just thinking of Snow White."_

\- 

The next day, the school had internally split in half. It was to be expected, since reactions to Raven's new destiny were mixed. No one was willing to go against the Storybook of Legends, but that wouldn't erase Raven's bloodline as a Queen. Those who opposed Raven were dubbed "the Royals", since most of the opposition to Raven came from traditionalist royalty students. The students who supported Raven were called "the Rebels", despite not rebelling against anything. The driving point for calling them rebels was the fact that they supported the Evil Queen's daughter as the next Snow White. It was only breakfast time, but the students had already separated themselves according to where they stood regarding Raven. "Ah... Where do we sit?" Amber asked, holding onto her food tray. After looking around the room, she met eyes with her sister. "AMBER! RAVEN! COME SIT WITH ME!" Glinda shouted from the Rebel side of the room, unintentionally letting everyone else know that Raven had entered the room. As Amber and Raven made their way towards Glinda, many students stared at Raven. Some were glaring, while others were simply curious. 

"I'm very sorry if you wanted to join the other Royals, but..." Glinda gestured at the salty Royals from a nearby table. "You haven't been fully accepted as the next Snow White." A milkshake came flying towards Raven, which Glinda blocked with magic. A Royal from one of the smaller tales yelled, "I'LL NEVER ACCEPT YOU AS SNOW WHITE!" They prepared to throw another food, but they were stopped by the top Royal, Briar Beauty. "That's enough." Briar flashed a look of contempt at Raven, before turning away. "If you wish to maintain your dignity as a Royal, ignore her." Surrounding Royals lauded Briar as benevolent and kind, while the Rebels continued eating in silence. This went on for a few minutes, until Amber decided to lighten the mood. "So Raven," Amber began. "Will you switch your room assignment?" 

"What? Oh, no. Thanks for the offer, but the headmaster wouldn't let me." Raven explained how after the Legacy day ceremony, Headmaster Grimm had called her to his office to explain her schedule change. Most of the villain related classes had been swapped for princess classes, with the exception of 'Magicology'. As much as Raven wanted nothing to do with dark magic, she needed to learn to control it. When Raven had asked about her dorm assignment, Grimm told her that he wouldn't change her room assignment. Since she hadn't been fully accepted as the next Snow White, moving her to one of the Royalty dorms was bound to upset someone. However, he was willing to allow her swap out her furniture. Before letting her leave, he added, "Don't disappoint me."

Glinda enthusiastically urged Raven to swap furniture with her, since all the edgy villain furniture was meant for her anyway. It was a win-win for both of them, so Raven agreed. The tension in the room began to dissolve, but Blondie Lockes walked up to their table, eagerly holding out her mirror-pad. All of the tv screens surrounding the castleteria showed that Blondie was live-streaming, so there was no escape. She immediately threw a rapid-fire slew of questions at Raven, all of which Raven answered impeccably and vaguely. She intentionally kept her answers vague to avoid directly confirming or denying any of Blondie's claims. Raven thought this would prevent anymore chaos from interrupting among her peers, but she couldn't be vague after Blondie asked, "If you, the Evil Queen's daughter, are the next Snow White, who is the next Evil Queen?" Raven's face paled. It's not as if she didn't know. She knew very well who was fated to be her poisoner. However, revealing who it was would trouble everyone in Ever After, not just her classmates.

The one who would poison Raven in the future, the one who would take her mother's place in the mirror prison: The next Evil Queen was her half sister, the current Snow White. If Raven couldn't be accepted as the next Snow White, then Snow would not be accepted as the next Evil Queen. And, if Snow were to find out her fate, there's no telling what she would do to Raven. "I-I hadn't paid attention to who it was, so I don't know." Raven lied. Her shaky voice made i obvious she was lying, but thankfully, Blondie didn't push any further. "Well there you have it! Is Raven Queen truly the next Snow White? Who will be the next Evil Queen? I'm Blondie Lockes, signing out." She stopped filming and left for the Royal side of the room. Raven breathed a sigh of relief; she had temporarily dodged a bullet. Meanwhile, at the table of the top Royals, Blondie was discussing her report. 

"I'm not endorsing Raven Queen as the next Snow White, I'm just doing my job as a reporter." 

"But did you have to report right now?" Darling Charming, the bffa and right hand of Briar Beauty, asked. No one knows what Darling's destiny is, but it's assumed that she's just one of many random princesses in the smaller tales. However, due to being the best friend of the 2nd most famous Princess and the sister of the next Snow White's prince, Darling's status is very attractive. "You know what they say: Best to strike while the iron is hot!" Blondie replied. Blondie is the daughter of Goldie Lockes, who is in no way Royalty. However, Blondie insisted that she is a Royal. Blondie stalks, picks locks, and exposes secrets without remorse, but for reasons unknown to anyone but Briar and Darling, Briar let Blondie stick around. 

One of the things that Briar always overlooked was Blondie's ability to gather information. It was a double edged sword: pro, Blondie could find out anything & everything, and con, Blondie could find out anything and everything _about **you.**_ This is why Briar wasn't completely caught off gaurd when Blondie asked why she decided to sponsor the theatre class. The theatre class had recieved a sponsorship from Briar to produce a specfic musical, but Briar did it under the pretense of a Student council sponsorship. "Alright, you've caught me," Briar admitted. "But you can't report what I'm about to tell you." Briar explained that she wanted to see the theatre perform "Anastasia", a musical about a long lost princess teaming up with conmen to reunite with her grandmother. 

"Long lost Princess... That sounds an awful lot like-" Blondie stopped, realizing why Briar chose this musical. "Oh." Briar wanted Apple White, a long lost princess, to come back. She said wistfully, "It's a not a bad tale, right? It would be nice if it could happen..." _Then maybe I could see you again, Apple._


	3. Chapter 3

It was another day at Ever After High. For once, Amber didn't awaken from a vividly mysterious dream. Waking up well-rested was not a common occurrence for Amber, so she relished the few times it happened. She walked out onto the balcony, and as she stretched her arms, birds flocked to her shoulders. "Oh, good morning!" Amber greeted the birds, listening to their cheerful tweets and chirps. Unlike her mother and sister, she was incapable of using magic. The closest form of magic she had was her ability to attract and talk to animals. Due to growing up in the forest, Amber never questioned this. However, she felt like whatever life she had before she was adopted, that blur she can't recall, was not in the forest. As much as she couldn't remember what life she had, she could clearly remember how it felt: it was suffocating, she sought out the approval of others, and she never felt like she was enough. There a crumb of happiness, but it was overshadowed by everything else. Behind her, Raven began to groan. "Is it morning already?" Her hair was slightly disheveled, but overall, she looked fairest. _As expected of the next Snow White!_ Amber thought. "I need to go inside, charm ya later." She whispered to the birds before they flew away, and she walked back inside.

"I'm thinking of skipping breakfast today." 

"What? Why?" 

"You saw what happened yesterday, and I'd like to avoid as much drama as possible." 

However, Amber was not having it. While emphasizing the importance of eating breakfast, Amber dragged Raven to the castleteria. "It'll be fine, don't worry!" Luckily, true to Amber's word, the situation had significantly improved. There was still tension between the Royals and the Rebels, but people were talking normally, which was a step-up from the previous day's eerie near-silence. This time, Glinda was more discreet in calling over Amber and Raven, so less people noticed Raven's entrance. Everyone was distracted by the theater class's announcement: it would hold auditions for its upcoming musical, Anastasia, later that day. The announcement of the auditions, combined with Blondie's new coverage, took some attention away from Raven. Even Briar seemed to be focused on the musical, since she wasn't glaring daggers at Raven. Though, it did cause Raven to question what made the musical appealing enough to make everyone temporarily calm down. "Ooh! Ooh! Why is the musical so appealing, narrator?" Madeline Hatter, daughter of the Mad Hatter, asked the narrator- Wait. You spoke to me? "Of course, silly! Who else would I be talking to?" Wait wait wait, this isn't... My handbook doesn't.... Hold on a second.

**Hey Cecil! What's the protocol for when a character speaks to you?**

****

****

**_...A character is speaking to you?_ **

****

****

** Yes, and I'm in the middle of a narration right now!  **

****

****

** Uh.... Sorry Sylvia, but we have no such protocol. **

****

****

**What am I supposed to do?!**

** **_I don't know, just don't spoil anything to them!!_ ** **

"Your name is Sylvia? Wow, you're the 2nd narrator to tell me their name!" I did not tell you my- "By the way, you can just call me Maddie!" Never mind, back to narrating. Raven had been explaining to Glinda and Amber why Maddie was having a one-sided conversation. "She thinks she can talk to narrators." Although they weren't following, they nodded their heads like they would at a lecture. They assumed she was just talking with an imaginary friend, but _it is very awkward to watch others write off your existence as fiction even if you're right there_. "But you can't blame them, Sylvia. The only other person who can hear you is Kitty." Maddie turned her head towards the balcony overlooking the castleteria. "HEY KITTY! HAVE YOU MET SYLVIA?" She shouted, causing some students to stare at Kitty Cheshire, the daughter of the Cheshire cat. In her hands were some fries, which she planned to throw at everyone and start a food fight, but since so many students were looking at her, she couldn't go forward with her plans anymore. She disappeared, disappointed that she lost a possible form of entertainment. "Peas and crackers, what a waste of good fries! They could have been used at a tea party- Tea parties! We should have a tea party!" Maddie exclaimed, causing Glinda and Amber to finally give up on making sense of Maddie's statements. Instead, they started discussing the musical. 

"If I were to audition, do you think I'd actually get a role?" Amber asked. Specifically, she was interested in the lead role, the princess Anastaisa. However, she was under the impression that the one who'd be the lead would be an actual princess, who was destinied to live carefree and lavishly in a grand castle, with a perfect prince to protect them. She and her sister wouldn't be as fortunate: Amber was adopted, so she didn't inherit any traits that could have paved a path of witchhood for her. However, her association with her mother and Glinda was enough to cause discrimination against herself. In EAH, Amber was treated like a random maiden until she revealed her family. Then, there was Glinda. Glinda was the 1st and only biological daughter, so she automatically inherited becoming the next Witch of the West. Unlike the tale The Wizard of Oz's claim, Glinda and her mother Elphaba were immune to water. Elphaba staged her death to be with Glinda's father, but that also meant that she could never return to Oz. When she went to Ever After, she hoped that things would be different. Instead, even in the land of fairytales itself, she was expected to be dead. So she hid in the deepest part of a deep forest, trying to live as if the rest of the world didn't celebrate her fake death. Amber realized that Glinda would be subject to this ending, living faraway in hiding. However, Glinda wanted her destiny. She wanted to avenge her mother, and she wouldn't die in the end. Amber just couldn't stop thinking about what would come after.

"I somehow became the next Snow White, so I'm sure you can become Anastasia." Raven joked, cutting off Amber's thoughts and silencing the room. Suddenly, everyone was reminded that Raven Queen had become next Snow White. _'Oh no.'_ Raven thought. With one sentence, the bad blood between the Royals and the Rebels returned. The student began having shouting matches, getting louder and louder until they were sent off to their classes. 

\- 

Inspired by Raven, Amber had decided to try auditioning for the musical. She wasn't a princess, and she wasn't graceful. However, she trusted her decent singing skills. Mostly, anyway, since she's always sung alone and never against others. "Next!" A soft voice called, prompting Amber to walk to the stage. At the judge table were 2 chairs, but one chair was empty. There was a mirror pad held up by a stand, recording everything, but Amber didn't notice. What she had noticed was Darling Charming, who suddenly induced a strong pang of nostalgia. She wasn't aware, but Darling felt it too. "Name?" Darling asked with genuine curiosity, as she brushed her hair to the side. Amber found herself spellbound as time slowed down, due to Darling's magic ability. According to Mr. and Mrs. Charming, the ability stemmed from the fact that Darling was just that pretty. Admittedly, Amber found her pretty too. "Name, please?" "O-Oh sorry, Amber West." After confirming what role Amber was auditioning for, Darling encouraged Amber to start singing. After a 30 second silence, Amber took a deep breath and...

 _"They said I was found by the side of the road..."_

Darling was surprised. Since Amber was aiming for the lead role, Anastasia, Darling was expecting her to start singing "Once upon a December". The song was the most well-known in the musical, so most would-be leads end up singing that. Although a few other auditionees opted not to sing that song, Amber herself was singing "In my dreams". It's not like this was a bad choice, since it came from the Anastasia musical. "In my dreams" was just a lesser known song, which is why Darling was so surprised Amber knew it. But, the mirrornet existed, so it wasn't as if she had to look far to learn about it. Still, something about Amber was bothering Darling. She was sure they'd never met before, but her mind kept screaming how familiar Amber was. Was it her hair? Blonde was not a common hair color, but it wasn't rare either- Her father, her brother, and Blondie all had blonde hair. Amber's hair itself, however, was puffy. Not in the same way as Blondie, because Blondie's hair was closer to curly than puffy. No, Amber's hair was like... ' _Like Apple._ ' Darling thought. Not only did her hair resemble Apple's, but she also had her sapphire eyes, and her naturally-blood-red lips. When Darling heard Amber, she was sure that if Apple was there, she would sound just like that. ' _Could it be?_ ' Darling didn't want to jump to conclusions, but the undeniable similarity was there. Unlike the fakes she encountered over the years, who were all part of a scheme to take Snow White's promised reward money. 

Apple was born blonde, so Snow White never revealed her in public. In fact, she didn't let anyone take pictures of Apple as a newborn. Instead, she paid news outlets to show a random baby with the ideal, ebony-black hair. Apple was kept confined to her castle, and whenever she did leave to an approved, private place, curtains covered the windows. Snow White would meticulously come up with ways to keep the truth about Apple's appearance a secret- servants who tried to babble would be **harshly** punished, and only select families would know. This included Darling's family, who came from the Charming clan's long line of dashing princes and dainty princesses. When Apple went missing, Snow White was not honest about Apple's appearance: she described an idealized version with all the features that Apple lacked. She did this with the hopes that someone would appear, and she could mold them into a perfect replacement. However, no one was good enough. Try as she might, she couldn't let go of her only child. _"My Apple dumpling would never make such a gesture. My Apple crumb is better than that. My dear Apple-"_ Rumors from the White kingdom said that Snow White was on the brink of insanity. Whether or not they were true, Darling didn't know. What she did know was that Amber looked scary similar to Apple. 

_"You don't know what it's like, not to know who you are."_

Amber's singing voice was decent, but you could tell she never had training. What made Amber's singing so different from the other auditionees, however, was her tone. She sung in a true melancholy that could only be portrayed if- if she experienced it herself. ' _In the song, Anastasia explains to the con men that she can't remember much of her past, and the few memories she can recall are faint. What does this mean for Amber?'_ Darling thought as Amber finished singing. Just then, Darling's time magic wore off. Time began to move normally, and the doors to the auditorium swung open. "I'm back! What did I miss?" It was Blondie Lockes, who had returned from a 2-minute restroom break. To her, it looked as if they just started Amber's audition. However, that was not the case. "We just finished, don't worry." Darling turned to Amber. "You can leave now." Amber gave a quick thank you and scurried off towards the dorms. Blondie sat in the empty chair next to Darling, and she stopped the mirror-pad's recording. "So... Have you settled on an Anastasia actor yet?" Earlier, she and Darling had decided on who would play what role- all except for the lead, Anastasia. There was always something not right about the auditionee, whether that be their singing, their acting, etc. "How about Rosabella Beauty? She fits all the requirements, and isn't she also Briar's cousin?" Blondie reasoned. Darling shook her head. "If we cast her as the lead, it will look like she only got in through nepotism. Instead..." Darling played the mirror-pad's recording and scrolled to the last 2 minutes, during Amber's audition. 

"How about we make Rosabella the grandmother and Amber West the princess?" 

\- 

Later that night, Amber dreamt of a distant memory. She sat on a cold, marble floor surrounded by blocks, all of which were arranged to look like a castle. In her small hands were a wooden princess, with splotches of green on its skin. A voice told her that the green was a flaw, but she kept clutching onto her doll. She refused to give it up, because it was "a pretty dolly from papa". A little girl in a frilly, fountain-blue dress sat next Amber, holding the wooden prince. "I'm sorry my brother won't play with you. He said there's no way he'll join _'a silly princess tea party'_ , even if it's you." Apparently, Amber was engaged to the girl's brother in the dream. She was not pleased with this, in reality and in the dream world. However, her dream self never dared voice her complaints. "This is why your brother sucks. I never see him, and he never plays with me." The girl laughed in response, causing Amber's cheeks to flush. "Yeah, sorry about him. But you can play with me, right?" Amber couldn't help but smile. "Yes." They began a soap-opera-like role play with the dolls, following the cliche plot of forbidden romance. 

_"Run away with me, Princess Scarlet!"_

_"I cannot, Prince Charming! My evil step-mother forbids it!"_

"But I love you!" 

Amber's dream-self knew that the girl was just role playing, but her heart took the words too seriously. Her increased heart rate embarrassed her, so she turned away and stopped talking. "Is something wrong?" The girl asked, concerned that dream-Amber suddenly shut up. Without thinking, dream-Amber blurted,

_"I wish you were a real prince, because I want to marry you."_


End file.
